Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Waylaid

I had to take a break from art; my house and my "stuff" were getting away from me. But just when I had gathered enough stuff for a yard sale, I wound up in the hospital with atrial fibrillation and pneumonia. It seems to take a couple of months to recover after that kind of setback. I continued with cleaning up the yard and reorganizing the house "stuff", planning to start painting again after the holidays and a wedding. (My grandniece got married.) It also didn't help that our desktop computer is being finicky; sometimes it stays on and sometimes it doesn't. I have a laptop, but I prefer the larger screen (I'm also getting a cataract in my left eye so it's harder to see detail than it used to be). I also got a smart phone so I always have a camera on me if I see something that might make a good painting. That's going to take a few days to figure out. But I thought I had better post something before my blog disappears since I hadn't posted for almost a year and explain the absence.. So here it is January already and I haven't started painting again. I'm not sure where to start to get back to where I left off. Maybe I should start with a trip to the optometrist so I can get new glasses and see a little better and get some inspiration back and put that smart phone camera to use.

3 comments:

Hi Melanie! You have really had a series of difficult things to deal with. I am glad you are stronger after your bout with a-fib and pneumonia. You're right in that it takes a long, long time to get well again!

It will be so much fun to use your phone for photos. When I walk I usually spot something I should snap.

When I'm "out of sync" with not painting for awhile I get inspiration from looking at others' art - in books, on the internet or at museums or shows. It just makes me feel like I want to try something. I hope you'll be posting again soon. I love the subjects you choose and how you portray them.

Thank you for your encouragement, Carol. It was nice to hear from you too. I still have some more things that I want to do around the house yet. I do seem to enjoy the challenge of reorganizing closets and drawers and making better use of the space I have. I guess that's somewhat creative. I feel better and it's easier to live when things are more organized. Maybe after I get the next project done, I'll start reorganizing my art supplies again and painting. As you suggested, I'll start browsing other artists blogs and also keep checking Daily Paintworks. I do have a subscription to Artists TV which I should be using. Usually when I do start painting, one idea leads to another. I just need to get started.

P.S. I had to crank up the old computer to post a reply. The laptop won't let me do that. I was surprised the old computer actually stayed on long enough to post. I have to get my tech specialist (my son Tim) to take a look at the laptop but we need to get a new desktop.

About Me - Melanie Dacko Cooper

Objective

I am starting this blog as a record for me and my family and as a challenge to myself--to keep painting.

I will try to remember any art work that I did that I sold or gave away and possible location and post photos if I have them.

The challenge part of this blog for me will be to compare what I did when I was quite a bit younger to what I can do now. Have I gotten any better? I think I am better at some things, but may have also lost some skills. Please feel free to comment.

The images reproduced in this blog are copyrighted by the artist, Melanie D. Cooper. All rights reserved.